What we know about SARS-COV2



Medical Facilities at India

HT 25.3.2020


CORONA VIRUS

Influenza virus  (Orthomyxoviruses) p507-8 AnantNarayan


Ability to cause epidemics and pandemics : The reason the virus is able to cause epidemics and pandemics lies in its ability to undergo antigenic variation.

Antigenic drift, resulting from mutation and selection, is responsible for the epidemics. It has been shown experimentally that passaging the virus in the presence of antiserum leads to the appearance of such mutants.
Pandemics are caused by a virus strain that has undergone antigenic shift. The variation in such instances is so marked and involves different polypeptides simultaneously that mutation cannot explain it.
It is now held that pandemic strains originate from some animal or avian reservoir, either spreading to humans directly by host range mutation, or as a result of recombination between human and non-human strains .
Hybrids can be produced by growing human and non-human strains together in eggs. Recombinants can also be obtained from experimental animals exposed to mixed infection.

It has been shown by genetic studies that both the 1957 Asian virus and the 1968 Hong Kong virus were such recombinant hybrids.

Chemoprophylaxis has been reported to be successful with the antiviral drugs amantadine and rimantadine which block the viral M2 protein which functions as an ion channel. These act only with the type A virus and not with the type B, which lacks the M2 components .Zanamivir and oseltamivir, new drugs designed to block viral neuraminidase, have been found effective in the treatment and prevention of influenza, when administered as a nasal spray.
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p572 anantnarayan

CORONA VIRUSES
A group of spherical or pleomorphic enveloped RNA viruses, carrying petal- or club-shaped peplomers on their surface has been classified as coronaviruses. The name refers to the fringe of surface projections surrounding the virus, resembling the solar corona.

There are two groups: acid-labile viruses (associated with common cold-like illnesses) and acidstable viruses (associated with human and animal gastroenteritis).

There are many serotypes, which are mostly fastidious and difficult to grow in cell culture systems.

Coronavirus types
❖ Human coronavirus 229E.
❖ Human coronavirus OC43.
❖ SARS-CoV.
❖ Human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63, New Haven coronavirus).
❖ Human coronavirus Hl<Ul.
❖ Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERSCoV),previously known as Novel coronavirus 2012 and HCoV-EMC.

Human coronaviruses were first isolated from cases of common cold by inoculating organ cultures of human embryonic trachea with nasopharyngeal washings. Inhibition of ciliary motility indicates virus growth. Inoculation in human volunteers induces common cold after an incubation period of 2-5 days. The resulting immunity is poor and re-infections can occur even with the same serotype. They appear to be the second most common cause of the common cold, particularly in winter, next only to rhinoviruses.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS):

In November 2002, Guangdong province in South China experienced an outbreak of an unusual respiratory infection, with many deaths. The world outside knew about it only in February 2003, when a physician from Guangdong visited Hong Kong, fell ill and died there, after infecting 12 persons who had stayed in the same hotel. They, in turn, went to their countries to fall ill and initiate outbreaks there. By July, when the pandemic was controlled, it had affected over 30 countries, with many thousands of cases and over 800 deaths. India escaped the SARS epidemic; however, a few suspect cases were detected and quarantined.


The coronavirus responsible for SARS appears to be a new virus distinct from other coronaviruses, which had been classified into three types: mammalian viruses in types 1 and 2 and avian viruses in type 3. The new SARS virus is coronavirus type 4. The fact that it is a new virus is indicated by the absence of an antibody to it in human and animal sera collected from previous years. It may be a recombinant of some animal and human viruses. The virus has been isolated from Chinese wild civets and raccoon dogs, but not from pigs, dogs, cattle or poultry.

Spread: SARS spreads by inhalation of the virus present in droplets or aerosols of respiratory secretions of patients. Fecal aerosols also may be infectious. The incubation period is under 10 days. The disease starts as a fever with cough or other respiratory symptoms.Diarrhea is sometimes seen. The chest radiograph shows pneumonic changes. Death is due to respiratory failure.

MERS-CoV: 

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory illness that has recently been reported. It was first detected in Saudi Arabia in 2012. The virus that causes MERS is called Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERSCoV). Coronaviruses are common viruses that infect
most people at least some time in their lives. Human coronaviruses usually cause mild to moderate upperrespiratory tract illnesses. However, MERS-CoV is different from any other coronavirus previously found in people. This virus is thought to have come from animals including camels. Infection spreads though respiratory secretions.

Symptoms: Persons infected with MERS-CoV develop severe respiratory illness. They have fever, cough and shortness of breath. Severe cases may have acute renal failure.

Treatment: Currently there is no vaccine to prevent the infection. Strict isolation and barrier nursing is the only way to prevent spread.


novel COVID 19 info:  General Public Info




useful links in surgery

General
Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia (USA)
www.sambahq.org
British Association of Day Surgery
www.bads.co.uk
The Royal Society of Medicine
www.roysocmed.ac.uk
British Journal of Surgery
http://www.bjs.co.uk
Association of Women Surgeons
http://www.womensurgeons.org
Association of Surgeons in Training (UK)
http://www.asit.org
International College of Surgeons
http://www.icsglobal.org
Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow
http://www.rcpsglasg.ac.uk
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
http://www.rcsi.ie
Association of Surgeons of Great Britain & Ireland
http://www.asgbi.org.uk
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
http://www.rcsed.ac.uk
American College of Surgeons
http://www.facs.org
Surgical Research Society
http://www.surgicalresearch.org.uk
Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada
http://www.rcpsc.medical.org
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
http://www.racs.edu.au


Cardiothoracic Surgery
European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
http://www.eacts.org
American Association for Thoracic Surgery
http://www.aats.org
CTSNet
http://www.ctsnet.org

GI and Abdominal Surgery
American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons
http://www.fascrs.org
Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons
http://www.sages.org
Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT)
http://www.ssat.com
American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
http://www.aasld.org
American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association
http://www.ahpba.org
American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
http://www.asge.org

Maxillofacial Surgery
British Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons
http://www.baoms.org.uk
The Craniofacial Society of Great Britain
http://www.cfsgb.org.uk/Details.htm

Orthopaedic Surgery
American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons
http://www.aaos.org

Otolaryngology
American Academy of Otolaryngology
http://www.entnet.org
University of Dundee - Otolaryngology
http://www.dundee.ac.uk/otolaryngology
Association for Research in Otolaryngology
http://www.aro.org

Transplant Surgery
American Society of Transplant Surgeons
http://www.asts.org/
The Transplantation Society
http://www.transplantation-soc.org

Trauma Surgery
American Association for the Surgery of Trauma
http://www.aast.org/

Urology
American Urological Association
http://www.auanet.org

Vascular Surgery
European Society of Vascular Surgery (has links to member European Societies)
http://www.esvs.org
Vascular Surgical Societies (USA)
http://www.vascularweb.org
Society for Vascular Medicine & Biology
http://www.svmb.org

Paediatric Surgery
British Association of Paediatric Surgeons
http://www.baps.org.uk
Canadian Association of Paediatric Surgeons
http://www.caps.ca

Neurosurgery
European Association of Neurosurgical Societies
http://www.eans.org